A simple meal of fried fatback, braised cabbage, and a wedge of cornmeal was one of Meme’s stand-by suppers and is seriously old-fashioned country food. Fatback is the layer of fat that extends the length of a hog’s back. It is available fresh, meaning unsalted, uncured, and unsmoked. Fatback with the rind is used for making cracklings, which are fried pork skins with a bit of tooth to them, commonly eaten as a snack (yes, still), or baked into cornbread.

Ingredients

　　1/2 pound fatback, sliced 1/4 inch thick

　　Line a plate with paper towels. Place the fatback in a cold heavy-duty skillet, preferably cast iron. Heat over medium-low heat. Cook, turning occasionally, until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Using tongs, remove the fatback to the prepared plate to drain. Serve immediately.

　　From Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories From Three Generations of Southern Cooking, © 2008 by Virginia Willis. Reprinted by permission of Ten Speed Press. Buy the full book from Amazon or Abe Books.